Shikyo Kusubana
by Fleur de Anemone
Summary: Kakashi Sensei signed his team up for a mentoring program. Shikyo Kusubana, Atra Shoji and Ayeka Kitade get chosen to be trained. Naruto takes his team to visit Cynthia Suhn and Edward Elric. And that's where it all goes wrong.
1. Chapter 1

**(Pronunciation:  
****Shikyo Kusubana: Shiek-yoe Coo-sue-baan-ah  
Atra: Aah-traah  
Kitade: Key-tahh-day)**

"Good morning, Kakashi Sensei…" Naruto yawned, sitting up. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were sitting in the woods, waiting for Kakashi. He finally arrived.

"Hey. Guess what?"

"Um… You're going to stop making us wake up early?" Naruto guessed hopefully.

"Nope!"

"Damn."

"Ooh! We're going to swap Naruto for someone else?" Sakura asked.

"No."

"Damn."

"You signed us up for something."

"How'd you know, Sasuke?"

"I saw you yesterday after lunch. You had a pen, and were looking at a poster. What is it?"

"Well, there are new teams graduating from the academy. And we're out of Jounins to train them. SO! You three will be training them while I train you. At the same time!"

"Really?" Naruto seemed happy. "That's great! I can teach one of them my Shadow Clone no Jutsu!"

"Don't rush into that, Naruto." Kakashi replied. "Teach them the basics, first."

"So when do we meet our little apprentices?" Sakura asked.

"After lunch. Soon, they'll be getting their teams in the academy."

"So what do we do until then?" Naruto questioned.

"Goof off."

* * *

Morning. How she hated it. Like Naruto, Shikyo Kusubana wore goggles on her forehead. She looked at her bedside table and saw the head protector, neatly folded up. Unlike Naruto, Shikyo had a cold, quiet personality, more like Sasuke. But like Naruto, Shikyo had no parents. She had arrived two years ago and had been training ever since. She was quite skilled, yet she was the kind no one noticed. She tied the head protector around her leg, just below the knee. So it was a head protector. From now on, it would protect her knee. 

Shikyo Kusubana roughly meant "Death Flower." And Shikyo was well aware of it, so she made her reputation fit the description. She was quiet, but deadly.

Shikyo had a fair face and white teeth. Her hair was blood red, and she liked it. Her eyes were a cold onyx, always flashing around for signs of trouble, or danger. Not that there were many. She wore fingerless black leather gloves, and a dark brown jacket, that was open to reveal a black tube top. Ripped jeans hung on her hips, and rough black boots were on her feet. She had kunai holsters on each hip. Sure, Shikyo pulled off the badass look, but no one had actually seen her do something bad. She had two piercings in her right ear and three in the other. It just looked good. She didn't care what other people thought.

The best jutsu Shikyo knew was her own. The Death Bell no jutsu. The Zetsumei Yobirin no jutsu. What it did was take the hand sign she made and turned it into a bell. Every time the bell rang, the victim would lose either chakra or stamina. Like Ino's specialty jutsu, Shikyo had to aim for the enemy. The jutsu took stamina from the user at first, but restored it, depending on how much stamina is sucked from the victim. Her weapons? Oh, just kunai and shruiken. And a katana sheathed across her back.

Shikyo picked up her backpack and sighed. Well. Time to go meet her team.

* * *

Shikyo walked into the room and sat down at a random table. She was silently surprised when someone sat next to her. She simply turned her face to see. 

The girl was small, with sky blue hair that fell to her shoulders in a mess of tangled waves. Her attire was a simple gray sweater and khakis, and her head protector of course. She noticed Shikyo looking at her and smiled, stuttering, "H-hi, Shikyo."

Shikyo said nothing. Because she was quiet like that.

Shikyo had heard this girl speak before. She was a brainiac, and knew the answer to everything. She didn't stutter then. Why was she nervous now?

Shikyo's cold, quiet eyes said it all. The girl turned her face forward again, sighing. Iruka walked in, waving and smiling. "Good afternoon, everyone! You are all here because you've become Genin. Jounin will lead half of the teams, and the teams that graduated before you will lead the other half. You will all be put into groups of three. I will now announce the teams!"

Iruka droned on with the teams for a little while. Shikyo took this time to look around her. In front of her sat Atra, last name unknown to Shikyo. Atra was Latin for "dark," though Atra hardly fit the description. Atra was a cheerful, handsome boy, with a good humor andgood jutsu. The class clown. In short, Shikyo hated him for being so happy all the freaking time.

"Team number seven." Iruka said. "Shikyo Kusubana,"

Shikyo looked up. It was about time!

"Ayeka Kitade…"

The girl next to Shikyo smiled. So that was her name. Ayeka. Huh. Didn't mean anything.

"And Atra Sanji. An older group will lead your team. Come back here after lunch with the others, and your head Jounin will come get you."

Right. Shikyo could wait. She had only waited half her life for something interesting to happen, anyway.

* * *

Lunch had been eaten, the other teams had left, and team seven was still waiting. Kakashi was late like he was for Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. 

Shikyo quietly sat in a chair while Ayeka drew on a piece of paper. She was a good drawer. Atra, however, was pacing the room, more bored than he had ever been in his life.

"Good afternoon. You must be my new team."

Kakashi stood in the doorway, his half-closed eye scanning his new Genin. Atra and Ayeka wore their head protectors, but…

"You know you're supposed to wear your head protector on your head." Kakashi commented, his eye falling on Shikyo. Shikyo said nothing. No response whatsoever.

"Okay. Right. Come with me to meet your new Senseis."

They were on the roof, like last time when Kakashi met his students.

"There are your new teachers. Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. Please, introduce yourselves."

"How?" Ayeka asked. "Can we get a basic idea of what we should say?"

"Well, your name, of course. Your likes and dislikes. Hobbies." Kakashi replied. "You, on the left."

"My name is Atra Sanji. My first names means 'dark' in Latin, but I'm not very dark, or gothic, or whatever. I like having lots and lots of fun and junk, and I dislike it when people say—" Here he lowered his voice to indicate someone else talking. "—'Atra! Ninjas are serious people and are not prone to having tons of fun!' My hobbies are probably pranking people and laughing… Junk like that."

"Okay… You, in the middle."

"My name is Ayeka Kitade. I like to draw, and read, but I dislike learning and junk. My hobbies are reading, drawing, writing, et cetera. You know, language arts stuff."

"Right. And the last one?"

Shikyo sighed, not wanting to talk. "My name is Shikyo Kusubana. I don't like anything, besides martial arts. My hobbies… Well, I don't have any hobbies, I guess. I tend to notice things other people don't, and I often get distracted by details."

"And your dislikes?"

"Atra."

"Aw, come on…" Atra muttered, sulking.

_Great, at least she doesn't hate ME. _Ayeka thought.

"Shikyo Kusubana… 'Death Flower,' no?"

"Correct."

_I don't know about death, but she sure is a flower in my book… _Naruto thought. _Um… _"Dibs on training Shikyo!" Naruto shouted happily.

Sakura bashed the back of his head. "No dibs. We train them together!"

"Right, right, right…" Naruto rubbed his head. "So, um, let's go train, or whatever."

* * *

"Alrighty." Naruto held up two bells. "Your task is to steal one of these bells from me. What you have to do is find a way to obtain one of these bells before dinnertime. But there's a catch. If you don't pass, you go back for another year at the academy!" 

_Sounds easy enough, _Shikyo thought. _How hard could it be to take a bell from a loser like Uzumaki? But I'd better not lose…_

"But there are only two bells!" Ayeka pointed out.

"Duh! Those who do get bells will get dinner. Whoever doesn't has to sit tied to a post and watch us eat. Alright? I hope you had big lunches. I'll give you thirty seconds to hide yourselves. Go!"

The threw shot off in different directions. Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura sat off to the side, watching carefully. _They're hidden well… But I'm interested in that Shikyo… _Kakashi thought.

Naruto opened his eyes. "Great, you're all hidden, waiting for an opening… Huh?"

Shikyo leaned against a tree watching. She did not hide herself at all.

"Stupid, you were supposed to hide!" Naruto fumed.

Shikyo was silent, not moving, and not blinking. Creepy. She lifted her hands into a hand sign and aimed for Naruto. Her voice was little more than a whisper… "Zetsumei Yobirin no jutsu."

_Klong._

"What?" Naruto looked around. "What's that? Where's it coming from?"

_Klong._

Her hands?

_Klong._

Naruto began to feel slightly weak. What was going on? What was this Shikyo girl doing?

_Klong._

Naruto staggered slightly. What…

Shikyo withdrew her hand signal, regenerated with at least two times her natural chakra. She simply pulled out a kunai and summoned her chakra into her hands, giving it even more force and speed.

"Ah!" Naruto skipped aside, but the kunai dug into his jumpsuit and pinned him to a tree. Shikyo smoothly walked over to snatch a bell when…

"Shadow clone no jutsu!"

…She was instantly surrounded by Naruto clones.

She growled and backed into a tree. "Shadow clones…" She drew her katana.

"Ah!" Several clones backed away. "Don't like, behead me or something!" One screamed. "Me either!"

"I'll dispatch all your heads until I find the real Naruto." Shikyo replied.

"Undo the jutsu!"

"No way! She's right where we want her!"

"But she'll kill us all, and the real Naruto in the process!"

"Just undo the jutsu!"

Pop.

And the jutsu was undone, leaving Naruto and Shikyo alone.

"Not fair, I don't have…"

"Twinkle, twinkle, little bell…" Shikyo snickered. She jingled the bell in her fingers. "Look what I stole?"

"How did you—"

"Simple." She drew a diagram in the dirt with her katana. "While you had all your clones, it was simple to find the real one. The one that was still pinned to the tree! So I cut off a bell with my katana."

"Then why…"

"I took them both." She pulled the other from her pocket.

"Um… Okay, test over!"

Ayeka and Atra gloomily came out of hiding. "So I guess we don't get dinner, huh?" Atra asked.

"You don't, Ayeka does." Shikyo tossed a bell to Ayeka.

"Um…" Naruto looked at Kakashi for guidance. "Can she do that?"

"Hey!" Shikyo demanded. "Ayeka obtained a bell one way or another! She deserves dinner, even if she did not do anything to get it."

Clapping interrupted them. Sasuke stood up. "Teamwork, that's what it is. Ninjas need to learn how to use teamwork with their allies."

Shikyo lifted her eyes. She hadn't acknowledged Sasuke since she introduced herself. He was very.

Very.

VERY.

… Hot. And she just realized it.

She blushed. "…Whatever. So does Ayeka get dinner or not?"

"Yeah, she does."

Atra began crying anime style. "I didn't even get lunch… I was too busy wearing it."

Shikyo looked at him. "Well…"

* * *

And this was how Shikyo got tied to the post. She didn't squirm, and she didn't scream. She just sat there, watching Atra and Ayeka eat their food. 

"Alright, listen, we have to go off and find a place where we'll train tomorrow. DON'T give Shikyo any food or you fail!"

And so Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto left. They went into the forest not to look, but to talk.

"She dislikes Atra very much, you know." Kakashi said. "Yet she gave up her bell for him. I don't know if we should send her back to the academy or not."

Naruto peered through the bushes at the team. "Hey! Come watch this…"

"Shikyo, please, eat something!" Ayeka urged.

"No." Shikyo replied. "Stop trying. I'm not hungry." What she was doing, other than not being hungry, was thinking about Sasuke. Even quiet girls had someone to crush on.

"But Shikyo, you'll have to go back to the academy…"

"If you give me food or not I'll go back. I don't care. It will be good for me. I'll learn more about Tai, Gai and Nin jutsu."

"So? You barely use jutsu anyway. You always struck me as a martial arts 'I'll kick your ass!' chick." Atra commented.

Shikyo glared at him coldly. _Annoying jackass…_

"Besides, this is the longest time I've ever even heard you SPEAK! Don't you want to make friends?" Ayeka asked.

"I don't needs friends, they slow me down. To get what I want, I need to be able to move quickly."

_Huh, just like Sasuke… _Naruto thought, glaring at his dark-haired teammate.

"Yeah? Well, what is it you want? A cup of tea, perhaps?" Atra snapped, angry.

"Number one, tea is gross. And there's someone… Some_thing… _I need to kill."

"The nine-tailed fox? Everyone knows that was sealed away…"

Naruto's heart skipped a beat. It better not be him…

"No. Don't ask. Please. Because if he's nearby, I don't want him to know. I feel like he's watching me, but he's not."

"Shikyo, just let out you feelings, okay?" Ayeka smiled. "We won't tell anyone. We promise, right, Atra?"

"Rightness."

"Okay…" Shikyo took a deep breath. She clenched her fist even thought it was useless, tied to that post. "I can't go back to the academy now! I've come so far to be pushed back. I've practiced, I've studied, and I've developed my own super powerful jutsu! Yet I only just got this far, and now I'm going to be pushed back again."

"Shikyo? Why did you give me your bell? Instead of going back to the academy, you could have been trained alone instead of us." Atra asked.

"Good point," Whispered Sakura.

"You've both worked hard. Atra, your jutsu is fantastic. And Ayeka, everything we've learned at the academy, you remember. You deserve to move on."

"GUESS WHAT?"

Shikyo looked up blankly. Naruto was standing on the post she was tied to, grinning. "You three all PASS!"

"Great." Shikyo bumped her heel on the ground, pressing a small black button. A razor-sharp blade shot from the toe of her boot. Shikyo lifted her foot and brought it over to the post, sawing through the ropes.

"Could you have done that at any time?" Sakura asked, as she, Sasuke and Kakashi came from the bushes.

"Yeah. So?" Shikyo replied. "I passed, didn't I? I thought it would be a good idea to wait." She lifted her dull, emotionless eyes to Naruto and Kakashi. "If there is a problem, I'd just love to hear it."

"No problem! None at all!" Naruto waved his hands innocently. "Hehe… No problem!"

Naruto looked at Kakashi, who nodded. "Okay, go home and junk like that. I'm taking you to a special friend of mine to talk to. She's leaving in a week and I want you to talk to her. Maybe her arm has healed…"

Shikyo, Atra and Ayeka looked at each other. "Huh?"

* * *

"Now listen, she might still be sensitive." Sakura explained. She was acting as tour guide. "So don't comment on anything bad." 

"Where are we?" Atra asked. "Slowly going into the past?"

In truth, the walls and furniture kept getting old fashioned as they went back.

"No, these are the back rooms. Not many people come back here, so no one has done any recent redecorating."

"Yo, At." Naruto pulled Atra back so they were walking at the back of the group. "Even if her arm doesn't work yet…" He swiped a hand through the air. "Cynthia Lalaurana Suhn is damn hot. So at least acknowledge her."

"Can do."

Sakura turned the knob, listening through the door. "Cynthia and Edward sound busy…"

"I'm not even going to ask what 'busy' is supposed to mean." Ayeka shuddered.

"No, not _that._"

Sakura pushed open the door. Loud, metallic clashing filled their ears, getting into their heads.

The first thing they saw was a short, long blonde haired boy in an old karate uniform jumping back. His left arm was organic, but his right was made entirely of metal. Was it just casing, or was it really just wires and circuits?

"Cynthia!" He laughed. "Naruto's here. ACK!" He blocked. "Didn't you freaking hear me?"

"Sorry! My arm's a little jerky."

The girl was taller, with even longer hair that was let free to fall down her shoulders. She, like Edward, wore an old karate uniform. Instead of her right, her left one was made of metal.

Cynthia's fingers twitched and her arm jerked to the side a bit. "Is it supposed to do this, Ed?"

"Yeah. In a few days it will stop that." Edward wiped his forehead with the cold metal of his arm. "Hey, Naruto, something wrong? Seen Gaara? Or the homunculi?"

"No, Ed. I just brought my students to some talk to Cynthia."

"Oh, sure. Talk to the handicapped kid… Wait, did you say students?"

"That's right!" Naruto struck a proud pose. "I, Naruto Uzumaki, am training ninjas with my team!"

Cynthia and Edward just looked at each other. Then they both burst out laughing.

"YOU! NARUTO UZUMAKI! TEACHING!" Cynthia gasped. "I THINK I'M GONNA DIE!"

"I KNOW!" Edward replied. "NARUTO, OF ALL PEOPLE!"

Naruto fumed and flailed his arms. "HEY NO FAIR I SURE AS HELL CAN TEACH!"

"Yeah, how to lose! You ran away like a kitten when you even glimpsed a Lalaurana demon!"

Cynthia stopped and glared at Edward. "I'll have you know, Lalauranas are very fearsome beasts."

Shikyo and Ayeka looked at each other. "What's a Lalaurana?" Ayeka asked.

Cynthia just stared at them. "Who are you?"

"Um, we're Naruto Sensei's students."

"…NARUTO SENSEI! HAH!"

"Now, um, Miss. Suhn, what's a Lalaurana?""

"A Lalaurana is a dangerous, majestic creature. With the tail of a fox, the body of a wolf, and the head of a cat, it has fangs that was four inches long that can tear the shit out of you. A swipe of a mighty paw, and you're halfway dead."

"Wow. Lalauranas sound dangerous!" Ayeka gasped. "I never knew there was such a thing!"

Sakura looked at Cynthia, sighing. "You have no idea."

Sasuke walked in. "Naruto, why did you bring them to Cynthia anyway? Just to talk?"

"SASUKE!"

Sasuke was nearly bowled over. Cynthia threw herself over into a hug. "HIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

"OH OF COURSE SHE HUGS YOU!" Naruto screamed in outrage.

Shikyo watched with interest. The girl was very strange. And unique, in some way. And she seemed very close to Sasuke.

Edward pulled her off of Sasuke. "Sheesh, Cynth, don't kill the man…"

Cynthia muttered "Whatever" and swiped a hand across her forehead. "So, Naruto, what's wrong? Hello, I'm still wondering why the Hell you're here."

"I just thought you could demonstrate to my team." Naruto shrugged.

"Whatever. So where are the little students?"

"We're right here!" Ayeka said brightly.

"Forgetful, much?" Atra whispered to Ayeka.

"Of course. Of course."

"Cynthia, this is Ayeka Kitade…" Sakura began.

"Hi!"

"Atra Shoji…"

"My name means dark but I don't seem very dark, do I?"

"And Shikyo. Shikyo Kusubana."

Shikyo said nothing. Because she was quiet like that. Moving on.

"Well, um, I'm Cynthia Suhn, heiress to Lalaurana's school of indiscriminate grappling." She bow and smiled.

"And I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist from the country of Amestris."

And then, Shikyo changed.

First she twitched… Then…

"OH MY GOD I LOVE ALCHEMY YOU HAVE TO TEACH ME SOME PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!"

Edward shook his leg. Shikyo was clinging to it. "Hey! Let go!"

"PLEEEEEEASE! YOU'VE GOT TO!"

"Well, um, I have to leave in a week, and I can't teach you much in that time…"

"I already know like SO much! I know all the basic laws, principals, and I can even transmute basic household items! You MUST teach me PLEASE!"

"FINE just don't tear my leg off!"

"YAY!" Shikyo bounced up and down. Then she calmed and resumed her usual personality. _I have to stop doing that, _she thought. _It's embarrassing.

* * *

_

**But in every nice, happy story, there lies a terrible one, ready to snap at you with gaping jaws. **

**

* * *

**


	2. Chapter 2

Rain began to fall steadily. To Seikei Mitsukai, rain brought pain. She was supposed to stay indoors at all times, ESPECIALLY when it was raining. Mother always said that the outside was a dangerous place. She could get killed. And so she stayed inside for her early years. However, now that she was fifteen years old, she thought that was totally bogus. The worst thing that could happen was… Was getting a scrape on the knee, or a paper cut. Bit by a Venus fly trap. Whatever. Besides the pink, strapless dress on her back, and the other pink, strapless dresses in her closet, she had no clothes but socks, tights, and undergarments. She didn't need anything formal, or rough, or sexy, because no one ever saw her. Seikei Mitsukai meant "Living Angel." But to Seikei, it could have meant "Living Hell."

Seikei had purple hair in a style much like Hotaru's, or, Sailor Saturn's from Sailor Moon. She had dark coal black eyes that seemed to stare right through you. They were hollow and emotionless. Seikei was anything but optimistic, and could say something sad about almost everything. In example, one day she was watching television, and someone said, "Isn't life just great?"

Seikei, without thinking, had actually replied to the television, "No. Life is not great. Eventually we will all die. And those who do not go to Heaven or Hell become dust in the wind." Seikei had a soft, quiet, delicate voice, unable to be heard amidst shouting.

You see, Seikei had no human emotions, because Seikei Mitsukai, the Living Angel, was not a homunculus, nor a fantasy creature, but a clone.

One day fifteen years ago, her mother was a brilliant scientist who had a daughter named Lilac. Lilac died in a freak accident, and her mother was devastated. So her mother made a clone with modern science. And that was Seikei. There was a strange blood seal on her right heel that never came off. And it was this seal that enabled Seikei to stay alive.

Seikei and her mother sat at the small kitchen table, sipping up instant ramen. Seikei's blood seal throbbed horribly in the rain, and she often couldn't use that foot. Seikei was silent, staring out the window.

"Seikei, what's wrong?" Her mother asked quietly.

"Nothing, mom… My heel just hurts, that's all." Seikei slurped up some more ramen and looked at the drops on the windowsill, and at the other houses in the Hidden Sand Village.

There was a knock at the door. Her mother stood up. "Seikei, go to your room and flip the main switch. It's the inspector."

For the last fifteen years, Seikei's mother had hidden her from the inspectors that came by every week. Only several people in the village knew about Seikei's existence. With a sigh of pain, Seikei hauled herself up the stairs and went into the room, flipping a switch. The whole room spun around, making it look as if there never was a door there. She dragged herself over to her window and looked down. She knew those eyes anywhere. And so she began to pack her things.

Seikei's mother opened the door, expecting to see an inspector on the doormat. But instead, she saw Gaara leaning against the doorframe, the heavy gourd full on his back. "I'm here for Seikei, Professor Mitsukai."

Seikei's mother sighed and looked at her shoes. "Already? But Gaara, she's so young…"

"When it's time, it's time." Gaara looked beyond her at the stairs. "I know it seems early. But my greatest rival has appeared earlier than I have expected. And I will do anything I can to kill him. And to harness Seikei's unique power is what I need."

"But Gaara, Seikei has received no special training whatsoever, I didn't enroll her in the academy for fear of discovery, I…"

"I'm here, Gaara."

Seikei walked down the stairs silently, because after all, she wore no shoes and had no need for them.

"Seikei…" Her mother smiled wryly. "Don't die."

Seikei walked by her without a single glance. Seikei had never loved her mother. It was the way it had always been. Seikei walked out the door, and Gaara turned to join her.

"From the reason you're here, I take it your rival is Sasuke Uchiha." Seikei said in her quiet voice when they were out of her mother's earshot. "The only survivor of the Uchiha clan."

Avoiding the facts, Gaara replied, "Seikei, can you unleash your power yet? I specifically told your mother to teach you."

"Yes. I have been training in secret. Many a long night I have stayed awake—"

Gaara interrupted her. "Good. What I want you to do is kill Sasuke Uchiha."

Seikei's face held no emotion. "Of course, Gaara. It's easier than killing a rat."

By pure coincidence, a rat scampered across the road in front of them. Seikei's looked at it. Her eyes widened slightly, then lowered to their usual half-open state. The rat squeaked and with a sickening _pop!_, exploded into a cloud of blood and fur.

"Gaara, how far away is the Hidden Leaf Village?"

"Very far. It will take us a while to get there."

"'Us?' You're coming too, Gaara?"

"Of course. I wouldn't want to miss out on my rival's brains spilled across the ground." He began to get a wild look in his eye at the thought, but calmed himself.

"Naruto Uzumaki. What about the fox."

"To kill him would unleash the fox within him. But if I were to kill the fox too…" Gaara looked at the sky, obviously going slightly insane.

"Gaara, calm yourself."

Gaara blinked. He was silent for a moment, then went on. "We will be meeting up with some… Colleagues, you would call them. Half of them are homunculi, or artificially created humans. The other half are their human doubles."

Seikei was quiet for some time. "…Oh." She finally said. "I didn't know I would have to work with someone."

"It's more like they'll be killing off anyone who gets in our way. They're strictly there to protect us, even though I don't need protecting at all."

"Of course, Gaara. You are too powerful to cower behind such meaningless pawns."

Gaara's scary eyes drifted over the path. "There's something I forgot to tell you. There might be someone else you have to kill. In fact, there's two."

"Who, Gaara."

"Cynthia Suhn and Edward Elric. The homunculi cannot take care of them. Lust almost killed off Cynthia. But they're both very strong. If you want to kill them, you'll have to do it quickly and quietly."

"Yes, Gaara."

* * *

"No, no, NO!"

"What the Hell am I doing wrong?"

"LIKE EVERYTHING! You want to try to accelerate your speed, not make yourself sluggish!"

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK I'M TRYING TO DO? I have a freaking metal arm here and I'm TRYING to get used to it, and 'taijutsu with Sasuke' is NOT helping!"

Sasuke darted around her in circles. "Then I guess Cynthia Lalaurana Suhn is just a slow little girl."

Without a word, Cynthia stuck out her foot, which Sasuke promptly tripped over. "You should talk."

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Naruto called over, outraged. "CHEATER! TRIPPING IS CHEAT!"

"Like there's any rules in the way of war." She replied.

Shikyo, Ayeka and Atra sighed. She was going about this in totally the wrong way. Sasuke was trying to teach Cynthia Lalaurana Suhn taijutsu, and it was NOT going well.

"If your arm is holding you up, then detached your arm!" Sasuke ordered.

"NO! I have to wait until the nerves connect! Then I could safely take it off!"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE AT ALL!"

"IT IS SO! Tell him, Ed!"

Edward was off in some corner looking out a window. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. It took ME a year but I don't exactly have freaky DNA, do I?"

"That just means that MY DNA is TWELVE TIMES better than yours!"

"IT DOES NOT! Tell her, Sakura!"

"Um…"

"What do you mean by freaky DNA?" Ayeka inquired. "Cynthia seems as normal as any of us, except for her arm."

Cynthia rubbed the back of her head and laughed. "Oh, it's nothing, nothing really… But I tell you, it has to do with those scary demons, the Lalauranas…"

"They may be scary, but Sasuke can tame one! RIGHT, SASUKE?" Naruto chipped in.

"Eh heh…" Sasuke laughed nervously. "Kinda…"

"Mister Elric…" An academy student peered into the room. "Iruka Sensei sent me in here to tell you, you have a phone call from someone named 'Roy Mustang.'"

"Mustang…" Edward growled. "What could he want…"

"Hey, Roy, what do you want?"

"That's colonel!"

"Whatever…"

"I need you to bring Cynthia back here. Your mission has been canceled."

"Huh? Why? Listen, we are like REALLY busy!"

"I don't care! The Fuhrer has ordered that you come back. He says that there is a war going on nearby and he doesn't want Amestris to get involved."

"So? We're out to…Do some IMPORTANT business!"

"Who are you going to kill?"

"…Whatever gave you that idea? And there is some MAJOR news…"

"What?"

"Um, Cynthia got automail?"

A muffled _thump_ was heard from the phone. Riza picked it up and said, "You heard the colonel, Edward. Bring Cynthia back here."

"Yes, lieutenant…"

Edward set the phone back on its cradle, turning around. And there, he noticed Naruto, Sakura, Cynthia, Ayeka and Atra eavesdropping. Shikyo and Sasuke we off someone, not interested.

"Cynth, we have to go back…"

"Okay."

"WHAT? You're just gonna go BACK? But we need to kill Gaara!"

"So? There will be other chances! We can come here on our days off. Sheesh, it's simple. Did Roy say when the helicopter was picking us up?"

"No. Let's go get packed."

Cynthia smiled and clapped him on the back. "Buck up, Ed. We're only going home a week early. Hell, Amestris isn't EVEN my home. And now I'll be a combat specialist!" Cynthia picked up a pencil and began to toy with it idly.

"Yeah, but…" Edward listed his eyes to Naruto and Sakura. "I'll miss you guys."

"Don't worry, Edo!" Naruto replied heartily. "If we ever see Gaara again we'll be sure to call you as soon as possible."

"Yeah, Ed. We'll keep a lookout here and you'll look in Amestris. But knowing him, he's probably at the hidden sand village, where he belongs." Sakura added. "But there's no doubt he'll come to kill Sasuke! There's also no doubt that he'll find some new cronies to come with him. Namely the homunculi."

There was a snap, and Cynthia dropped the broken pencil. "We're staying, no matter what your colonel says! I want to cut those homunculi open SLOWLY! Or at least their human doubles!"

Sakura and Naruto looked at her like she was insane.

Edward agreed.

* * *

Wrath peeked through the bushes. Gaara and Seikei walked by, SEEMINGLY not noticing him. He waved his hand to signal Lust and Envy.

"BOO!" Envy fell out of a tree, when he was supposed to jump.

"Idiot, you were supposed to jump. Not kill yourself." Lust hissed.

"So? I fell! Sue me!"

Seikei stared at the homunculi, no expression on her face or in her eyes. "You must be the homunculi. You don't look so special."

Lust extended her nails. "What did…"

Envy turned into Gaara, then Edward, then himself again. "You should talk!"

"Ah!" Wrath stumbled from the bushes, a twig accidentally fused on his finger. He found his finger again and switch it with the twig. "That was scary!"

"I see." Was all she said. She began to proceed, brushing them aside. Seikei was emotionless, and felt no need to stay there.

"SHE BARELY EVEN LOOKED AT US!" Lust protested to Gaara.

"That is who she is. Seikei Mitsukai, the Living Angel, is a clone."

Envy lounged on a thick tree limb, idly toying with a leaf. "When are the homunculi going to get here?"

Lust, who was painting her nails black, murmured, "I don't know… Wrath, did Gaara say when he would meet us?"

"Nope, nope, nope, nope!" Wrath dropped to all fours and growled at a rabbit, which had foolishly jumped from the bushes. "Arf! Arf!"

He glanced up. Seikei was staring at him with those expressionless eyes. "…What are you doing?" She asked.

"I'M A DOGGY! ARF ARF!" Wrath crawled around, panting with his tongue out.

Seikei glared down at her with her only emotion; anger.

Seikei's foot lifted with force, slamming into Wrath's gut and sending him into the air. Lust's eyes widened, and Envy dropped his leaf. Wrath flew through the air and landed, rolling over to stop at a tree.

Wrath sat up, took one look at the fearsome eyes of the clone, and began to cry loudly.

"NOW THAT'S THE KIND OF CRUELTY WE NEED!" Envy proclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "To hit a child with no resent or remorse… Why, Lust couldn't even do that!"

"Oh, and you could."

"I've beaten that kid tons of times!"

"Shut up, both of you." Seikei said. "I'm not here to kill the boy. I'm here to kill Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha."

"HAHA! EVEN BETTER!" Envy clapped. "Now I can watch that Cynthia chick cry!"

"Didn't you hear me?" Seikei snapped. "I told you to shut up! Follow orders! I'm your boss now. Now listen, and listen well. Gaara will take the homunculi, and I will take you. Whichever team brings back the Sharigan eye of Sasuke Uchiha will be rewarded greatly by Gaara. We will be Team S and the other will be Team G. Got that? Once we get inside we split up and find the heart of this operation; Cynthia Lalaurana Suhn. Once we capture her and take her away into the woods, Sasuke and his friends will come to rescue her. It is there we will attack."

Envy saluted. "Yes, sir!"

"Come, then. We will meet Team G at the front gates of the Hidden Leaf village."

Envy jumped down from his tree and Lust picked Wrath up. "Drill sergeant, much?" He whispered to his teammate.

* * *

Gaara had explained it similar to his team. And so they moved in for the attack.

* * *

Cynthia lay in bed, awake. The helicopter hadn't come the night before, so she and Edward simply went to bed. She heard her window slide open, so she rolled over and looked.

Gaara stood, leaning on the wall, moonlight splashed across his face.

"Gaara?" Cynthia sat up, a hand flying to her head. Was she dreaming? No.

Gaara lifted a hand and flicked it to the side. His gourd uncorked itself and sand flew out. A thick strand of sand wrapped around Cynthia's wrist and pulled her over. Gaara's sand bit into her wrists, making her blood drip onto the floor. The sand held her before Gaara for a moment while he said, "Don't die in there, we need you alive."

And then the sand closed around her in a stone prison.

* * *

"Cynthia?" Sakura backed into Cynthia's room, using her back because she was carrying a tray of food. "You didn't come to breakfast, so I brought you…" Sakura turned around and saw Cynthia was gone. Her eyes fell on the blood drops next to the window, and she dropped the tray, the glass and plate crashing into a hundred pieces.

"Naruto!"

"Sasuke, Edward!"

"Shikyo, Atra, Ayeka!"

Sakura pushed into everyone's room and called them into the hall. Once everyone was assembled, she said, "Cynthia's gone. It had to have been Gaara. There was sand on the floor!"

"Oh, shiiiiittt…" Edward pushed his fingers up through his bangs. "Alright, here's what we do… We go into the woods… And beat the crap out of everyone we meet until we find her!"

"Wonderful plan."


	3. Chapter 3

"Cyyyyyyynthiaaaaaaa…"

Cynthia muttered something that vaguely sounded like "Edward, shut the freaking Hell up, I'm sleepin'."

"Cyyyyyyynthiaaaaaaa… Wake up!"

Cynthia sat up and rubbed her eyes. Her hands and ankles were tied together, but when she moved them, the sand in the rope _killed_ her organic one.

"I have disabled your automail arm from all function. My name is Seikei Mitsukai, and I am your new master."

"What?" Cynthia spat. "Me, work for you. You're insane."

Seikei, in a fit of rage, kicked Cynthia's jaw to the side. Cynthia turned slowly to face forwards once more, wiping blood from her lips with her shoulder. Seikei calmed herself.

"Be quiet and listen. You are what Gaara and I call 'bait.'"

"Gaara!" Cynthia looked around frantically. "Where? I'm gonna kill that bastard…"

"You will lure Edward and his friends here. But it's not like you have any choice."

Cynthia glared at her. "Hmph."

Seikei unveiled a small silver chip from her hand. "This chip will take all the good energy you have and turn it bad, for the moment. It will only last four days because my power is not exactly at its fullest. _You _will be the one to kill Edward, Naruto, Sakura and anyone else who comes with them. Sasuke included."

"Sasuke…" Cynthia muttered dreamily. "No… Never…" She screamed when she felt the cold chip in the back of her neck. In an instant, it fused into her skin, and hungrily began to work. Cynthia fainted.

"So you already inserted the chip." Gaara said, walking from the shadows.

"Yes, Gaara. Just tell her what you want to happen." Seikei bowed and turned. "I'm sure your goals are private, Gaara."

Seikei left. Gaara knelt by the unconscious Cynthia and took some sand from his gourd. He drew a circle of sand around the chip on her neck and muttered, "A little curse, just for you. This will increase your strength by a hundredfold. I want to make sure you literally crush Sasuke Uchiha. This circle will remain as long as Seikei's control chip. This will also give you a little of my power, enabling the sand in my gourd to protect you from injury as well. Now, here is what I want you to do."

* * *

Cynthia opened her eyes. Her entire eyes; the whites, irises, everything; was blacker than the deepest depths of the ocean. She stood up and easily broke the bonds on her ankles and wrists.

"Master Gaara." She said quietly. "Master Gaara!"

"Good. You're awake." Seikei walked from the shadows. "Gaara told you what to do. Now go do it."

"No, I cannot, Seikei. I have to wait for them to get here." Cynthia spun around on her heel. "Besides, why should I listen to you anyway?"

"WHAT?" Seikei shrieked. "Didn't Gaara say anything about listening to ME too?"

"Nope." Cynthia smirked and toyed with a strand of hair. That was when Seikei noticed the ring of sand around her chip.

She cursed to herself silently. _Master Gaara didn't tell her to obey me!_

Cynthia crossed her arms behind her head. "All I gotta do is wait for Edward and his cronies to come looking for me. Then all it takes is a slice of fangs… Oh, yeah. SEIKEI! You are MY servant now. Obey me or else!"

"Erk… Yes, Mistress Cynthia."

_Shik_

A kunai cut through the air towards Seikei. Seikei sidestepped quickly, and the kunai thudded into the bit of sand that flashed up to protect Cynthia.

"YOU!"

The shriek wasn't hard to recognize. The shrill, annoying voice or Naruto could be recognized anywhere. Edward and his friends ran up, Edward most likely about to kill the first thing he saw. Naruto pointed at Seikei. "I know you from somewhere! You live in the Hidden Sand village!"

"Really." Seikei said in her usual monotone voice. She turned. "Mistress Cynthia, permission to dispose of the fox?"

"Permission granted." Cynthia replied as the wall of sand receded, dropping to kunai to dig into the wooden floor. She turned her head just enough to glare at Naruto, her mouth turned up in an insane grin. Her eyes shifted to Sasuke.

"Ah. My prey. Obviously, you think you've come to save me."

Sasuke glared at her. "You… YOU!" He pointed an accusing finger at Seikei. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER? TELL ME, DAMMIT!"

"It was Master Gaara's orders." Seikei replied. "It will only last a few days. Until then I will train to make it permanent."

"You're out of your mind!"

"No, I am quite sane."

Cynthia plucked the kunai from the floor. With great force and speed, she threw it at Sasuke. Sasuke, unable to avoid it, moved to the side, where it skimmed his shoulder.

So much for being a "him."

There was a puff of smoke as Sasuke clamped a hand over the scrape. Instead of Sasuke, Shikyo was glared at them with full anger.

"Ah. Transformation."

Naruto sighed and turned back to Atra. "Your caught us…"

"But there are three of you."

Edward stared at her with blank eyes. "Really." In a puff of smoke, Kakashi appeared. "It was hard to be so close to the ground."

Somewhere, far away in the woods, Edward sneezed and felt anger inside him.

"You're Naruto's sensei." Cynthia said. "Why are you leading such a weak band? The infamous Jounin Kakashi should we off with his stronger soldiers."

"Well, I wouldn't call myself infamous…"

Cynthia waved her hand, and Seikei snapped. The kunai Cynthia threw flew back to Cynthia, where she caught it with ease. "Then I will have such satisfaction killing you!"

She ran at Kakashi, but remember, Kakashi is a Jounin, an elite ninja. And he didn't get that way over night. Kakashi grabbed her wrist and spun her around, pointing her own kunai at the back of her neck, which reminded him of the time he did the same to Naruto.

"I'm not intimidated by foolish brats like you." He said. Then he noticed the control chip on the back of her neck… And the ring of sand around it. "Or should I say, cursed brats."

"What the Hell are you talking about?" Cynthia growled. She pushed back against Kakashi, making him stumble.

_This will increase your strength a hundredfold._

She remembered Gaara's words, smirking. "As you can see, I'm not weak, nor am I cursed. Besides being a deadly Lalaurana, I am also the world's one and only heir to Lalaurana's school for indiscriminate grappling. Which means I've had YEARS of training." She pushed her hand back, also pushing his. "To me, you're merely an obstacle to my true objective. A single thorn in my foot."

In a single movement, her other hand flew up and knocked away Kakashi's, spinning around and kicking him back a fair distance. "Maybe I'm not all fancy moves and crap like you ninjas, but martial artists are still DAMN WELL STRONG!"

Shikyo glared at her, twitching from pain with the skim on her shoulder. Blood began to stain her jacket and run down her side.

_Who do you think I am?_

Shikyo's glare deepened. _Some little academy student? I'm A Genin now!_ She untied the head protector from her knee, recalling an old vow.

* * *

_"Class! We're going to have an exam today on creative transformation. Imagine what you want to look like in your head, and when you're called up, try to transform into what you thought. Those who transform correctly will graduate. You're lucky, last year the Genin had to make clones. This is much easier." Iruka instructed. "Let's start with you, Dali!"_

_Dali walked up and made a hand sign. "Hehe…" He smirked, just as a cloud of smoke appeared."_

_"Good, Deli! Interesting choice. Kiraa?" Iruka handed Dali his headband._

_Dali had turned into a lovely girl who was named Itsumo. Itsumo glared at him from her seat, but Dali just waved shyly._

_Dali sat down and detransformed. Kiraa stood up and made her way front. _

_"Transform!" She said in her quiet voice. Poof. Kiraa turned into Iruka._

_"I'm flattered." Iruka handed her a headband. "Atra?"_

_Atra smiled. "I've had mine picked out for a while! Look!"_

_Atra turned into a very fat and very short Iruka._

_"…I don't even have to explain. YOU FAIL! Shikyo?"_

_Shikyo stood up, amid gasps. She shot those who gasped a glare, warning them. No one expected Shikyo to graduate, after all the evil jutsu she's practiced and created._

_Shikyo made a hand sign. _Transform!_ She thought._

A shadow was cast over the students. Shikyo was now the legendary nine-tailed fox. To turn oneself into an animal was an advanced form of jutsu, but however…

_"Shikyo! The nine-tailed fox is forbidden, even to speak of! YOU FAIL!"_

_Shikyo turned back to normal. She glared at Iruka and pulled out a kunai twirling it through its handle. Iruka stepped back, but was surprised when Shikyo jammed the kunai into the soft skin below her right knee._

_"I swear to God by my very own blood, that when I get one of those damn head protectors I'll only wear it over this scar in me knee until the right time comes. And that's when SHIKYO KUSUBANA becomes a JOUNIN!" She hissed. "Just you wait and see! I'll graduate! I swear to God!"

* * *

_Shikyo tied the protector around over her forehead. Atra looked over. "Shikyo! Don't you remember what you said? Last year? You would…"

"Put on my head protector when I become a Jounin. Atra. This is more important than becoming a Jounin." She made several hand signs. "Tiger, bear, wolf, squirrel, fox…"

"That's…" Atra gasped. "Klong no jutsu…"That's more dangerous than the Death Bell no jutsu! But Shikyo, she's our…"

"She's not our friend anymore, Atra!"

* * *

Ayeka was still with the others. Shikyo and Atra had sneaked away from the group and ran off on their own accord. It was pure luck that they found Cynthia.

"Aargh, where could those two be?" Sakura muttered. "They ran off! That is so like younger Genin!"

"They probably found Cynthia…" Edward muttered. "Yo, Ayeka? Is there any way to find where they are?"

"Well, Iruka Sensei always said that I was really good with hearing. If Shikyo uses a jutsu I could hear it from far away."

"How so?" Sasuke asked. "Most jutsus are silent."

"Not Shikyo's." Ayeka sighed. "Shikyo's full name is Shikyo Kusubana, which means Death Flower. Her middle name is 'bell.' Shikyo took that to her advantage and made jutsus branching from it."

"It took me a while… Okay, like, a day… To create my own jutsu." Naruto crossed his arms behind his head. "How advanced are Shikyo's jutsus?"

"Very advanced, for such a low level Genin, anyway. Shikyo had completed a total of three jutsus regarding bells; The Death Bell no jutsu, the Bell of Eternal Sleep, and Klong no jutsu."

"Klong?"

"It's not an abbreviation. That's the actual name. Shikyo… It… It's terrible. Terrible. It's dangerous to both the user and victim… I don't want to talk about it." Ayeka pulled out a small, thick book. "I swiped this from Shikyo's room. From all I've read, it's a recording of all her techniques, jutsus, special skills and thoughts on being a ninja. There's also some personal information at the back."

Sasuke took the book. "Are you sure we.…"

Naruto swiped it. "If you're going to worry about privacy…" He flipped to the back. "I don't recall ever seeing 'Shikyo Kusubana' in the academy rosters. I do remember Shikyo, but there's no mention of Kusubana…" At the back there was a page made so one could fill out personal information. "Let's see here…"

**Current age: **15

**Gender: **Female

**Hobbies: **Making jutsus, martial arts

**Likes: **Daydreaming, Sasuke Uchiha

**Dislikes: **Atra Souji

Naruto's eyes widened when he read the last one: **Name. **He dropped the book and jumped into the trees, more determined than ever to find Shikyo.

Sasuke picked it up. "What? Naruto!" He looked down at the page.

**Name: **Uzumaki Shikyo

"I can see why he would run off like that." Sasuke muttered. He flipped back to the front of the book. "So what is this Klong no jutsu…"

"**Klong no Jutsu has been successfully completed.**" He read. "**I have only tried it once and it worked perfectly. No one knows this, but I admire the nine-trailed fox. Not for what he has done, but for his strength and power. I want strength just like it. The Klong no jutsu, like two of my more practiced jutsus, uses bells, but not as much as the others. A bell made of chakra will bong one hundred times. In that time…**"

His pupils shrank.

"Yes…" Sakura urged.

"**The nine-tailed fox spirit of Naruto Uzumaki will be divided in two, and the scar on my knee will become the seal for that half. I will be drained of over 99 percentof all my chakra when the bell rings for its last time. I will allow half of the demon to take over me until that time. My husband must never know of this. The day he knows of this I must burn this diary…**"

"Holy crap! Husband?"

Sakura and Sasuke both glared at Ayeka. Ayeka, sheepishly, pulled out some papers from her pocket. "Marriage papers and legal documents…"

Sasuke and Sakura scanned them. "It's legal, completely legal." Ayeka said. "When Naruto was sealed away, the Kusubana family made an agreement with the Hokage. Should Naruto ever need access, he would be able to tap into the enormous fortune that Shikyo inherited. But the only way for him to have access was marriage. So he was to marry the first daughter of the Kusubana family, who was Shikyo. Naruto Uzumaki and Shikyo Kusubana have been legally married for fifteen years."

"Why didn't you tell us this?" Sasuke asked.

"I, um, just found out. I found these papers in Shikyo's backpack. She left it behind when she and Atra ran off!"

Sakura turned. "Edward! You're with the military, right? Is this legal? Can children as young as one be married?"

"It's totally legal."

"But in her likes, she says she likes Sasuke…" Sakura went on.

"As long as Naruto doesn't know, Shikyo can go out with anyone she wants. And if she wants to get married, she'll tell him and they divorce. Because Shikyo's family is dead, the only remains of that deal are their marriage."

"Oh… I see." Sakura looked at the ground, slightly pissed. _Inner Sakura: No WAY! Sasuke is SO mine! Go kill yourself, Shikyo!_

Meanwhile, Sasuke was thinking, _I never noticed Shikyo before… **Because she is so damn HOT! **Oh my God, do you ever shut up? **Hell no. You should totally ask her out. **Ahem. I am Sasuke Uchiha. Asking girls out isn't my style. **It's MY style. Let me out once in a while! **You're too talkative. **Sakura lets out her inner self every once in a while.** I'm not Sakura, am I? **So? **… Shut up. **Oh, you should totally ask Sakura out too! **Okay, I know that makes even YOU want to puke. **Hey, you're the guy who controls the body. **You know, we've got to stop talking to each other like this. **Well said.

* * *

**_Cynthia smirked and looked at Shikyo. "What's up, little girl? Going to test one of your jutsus on me?"

"Oh, it's more than that you ugly bitch." Shikyo replied.

"Shikyo's gonna kill you!" Atra teased. "Kill you, kill you…"

Cynthia's foot slammed into Atra's gut. She held a knife to his throat. "Kakashi! Kill Shikyo or Atra dies!"

Kakashi froze. "Where…" His mind flashed. First she charged him, like Naruto. And now she was threatening to kill someone if he didn't kill another. Just like that one day when Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura officially became Genin…

Cynthia's knife slipped along Atra's throat, making him squeak with fear and surprise. "Do it!"

Shikyo finally finished concentrating her chakra. And it happened.

The bell was blue, and vaguely looked like fog. It didn't bong yet. It waited. Shikyo screamed and looked at Cynthia. "You're going down…"

First came the tails. Then the eyes. Then the sleek fur. And then, the massive, fearsome body.

Cynthia laughed as the bell bonged. "A fox, huh. Just like Naruto."

Cynthia quickly morphed into a Lalaurana. And there, it was a clash of creatures. Cynthia tore away with her teeth, and Shikyo focused on chakra attacks. Already ten bongs.

* * *

Naruto jumped through the trees. _Uzumaki Shikyo. _"Who is she?" He screamed. "A sister, a cousin… ANYTHING!"

He came to a tall, red building. There was an inhuman roar… Yeah.

He jumped through and window to see Cynthia battling…

A nine-tailed fox.

Fifty rings. Shikyo was anxious to finish this, but just half of the fox wasn't enough. She had a long gash on her shoulder that she was afraid to see when the turned back to normal…

Kakashi grabbed Atra. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

"But Shikyo…"

"Shikyo will be fine! Come on!"

And finally.

One hundred.

With a shriek, Shikyo returned to normal, drained of 99 percent of all her chakra. Cynthia fastened her teeth into her shoulder. She screamed when Cynthia let go, taking a lot of her skin with her…

Naruto darted in and picked her up, running away.

Cynthia turned back into a human. Gaara came up behind her. "You did pretty good."

"Master Gaara, I don't understand. Why didn't your sand protect me when I was a demon?"

Gaara put a hand on her shoulder. Cynthia flinched slightly at his touch. "Let's just discuss this later. We need to prepare for their return."


	4. Chapter 4

The air was cold. All Shikyo could feel was the cold fabric of hospital sheets against her skin. She groaned and rolled over, opening her eyes. Naruto sat staring at her, from a chair right next to her bed.

"Naruto! Where…"

"The Hidden Leaf hospital. Registered under your name." He held up the diary. "Shikyo UZUMAKI!"

"Burn it. That diary? Yeah. Burn it. Burn it and bury the ashes!"

"Hell no. This is just EVIDENCE! So what are you? A sister? Cousin?"

Shikyo choked. "Um, um… I'm your…"

"Yeah."

It was obvious Naruto hadn't bothered to read it.

"I'm your wife."

_Thump._

Naruto fell over. He stood up again and said, "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"I'm your wife."

_Thump.

* * *

_Naruto sat up. Shikyo was looking at him like he was insane. "Wife?"

"Yeah. It happened the day I was born. The Hokage wanted to help you out a little, so if you ever had financial trouble, you would be able to play with the immense Kusubana fortune." She sighed. She was very weak, having about twenty percent of her chakra.

"But… You like Sasuke!"

"Yeah… If you never found out I could secretly divorce… But now you know, and you're gonna be pissed, huh."

"Pissed? PISSED? HELLO Shikyo, WAKE UP, I just found out I'm FILTHY RICH! HAHAHAHAHAHAAA! YESSS!"

He danced around. "I can FINALLY rub something in Sasuke's face! WOOHOO! YEAH!"

Suddenly he began to cry.

"Okay… Naruto…" Shikyo muttered. "What are…"

"SOMEONE ELSE WITH THE LAST NAME UZUMAKI!" He cried. "I have family! I am SOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOOOOOOOOO HAPPY!"

Shikyo grunted. She felt all the bandages around her shoulder. "Naruto? Do you remember what happened?"

"Yeah! You used this TOTALLY AWESOME jutsu and turned into a fake nine-tailed fox!"

"I… It wasn't… It wasn't fake."

_Thump.

* * *

_Cynthia looked out a window and shivered. The air was cold and icy. Somehow, she felt less angry today…

Temari yawned and walked out into the main landing. "Mornin', Cynth."

Cynthia spun around, but relaxed and looked back out the window. "Morning, Temari."

"So I guess you're part of the band, huh." Temari muttered. "Me and Gaara and you and…"

"Yeah, I know." Cynthia interrupted. Last night had been a dream. Gaara had dragged her to some room she had never seen… And opened the fridge and told her to eat as much as she freaking could. Builds energy, he says. (**A/N: What did you think I was going to say? XD**)

Temari began to toy with her fan. This caught Cynthia's eye. "What's that?"

"My fan."

"You fight with it?"

"I sure as Hell do."

Cynthia held out a hand. "Could I see it, Temari?"

Temari shrugged. "Whatever…"

Cynthia spread out the fan, noticing the three circles on the tough paper. She ran her fingers along all of them. "What are these for?"

"They add to the power. I like to use wind and junk, and this adds to the power of the wind. It's really heavy, and the circles kinda make it lighter."

Cynthia picked it up with one hand and twirled it around. "Really, I don't seem to notice. Does the fan have I name? I like it."

"Really? Gaara thinks it's girly."

"Well, Gaara don't know jack, does he?"

Temari didn't say anything. Gaara wouldn't kill Cynthia, but he would definitely kill _her._

"The only reason I have to listen to him is this frigging chip in my frigging neck." She went on, tapping the chip. "Only problem is, it doesn't seem to frigging come off. If I want to be evil, I want to be my own damn boss."

"You know what, you're using MY strength and MY sand, so you'd better listen to me or I'll kill you."

"EEK!" Cynthia's eyes grew super big and her pupils shrank super small. "GAARA!" She leapt up and barely balanced on the windowsill. "YOU FREAKING SCARED ME!"

"That's what I do. Now what was it you just said? About wanting to be your own boss?"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Cynthia waved her hands innocently. "Nothing, nothing! Gaara, haha, I wouldn't work for anyone but you!"

"Really."

"OF COURSE!"

His black-ringed eyes slanted, but he said nothing.

"Master Gaara, sir!"

Seikei tapped down the hall in her bare feet. "Kazekage is here."

"WHAT! That freaking geezer?" Gaara's blood began to boil. Ah, the man who continuously orders his assassination.

"It appears so. He does have close to ten ninjas with him. I'm sure they won't be a problem."

Gaara went downstairs to the main doors. Cynthia and Seikei followed, Temari preferring to stay out of the line of fire. Cynthia just wanted to watch them kill each other unmercifully.

"Ah, son."

Gaara flinched visibly. Kazekage had NEVER called him son before. Maybe once or twice when he was young.

"I knew you would be here. Who are your friends?"

"What do you want, old man?"

"Can't a father just come to see his son?"

"You can't, because you're the worst father the world has ever known."

_At least you have a father. _Seikei thought. _I was scientifically created, dammit!_

Cynthia opened the book that read 'alchemy.' "Hm. Who gives a crap about parents. They're weaklings. Unskilled and highly perverse. Old man, we're busy. Go back to your board games."

Gaara shot her a warning glance. Only HE could talk to the Kazekage and not get killed.

She knelt to the floor and took a look at her book, ignoring the furious glare shot at her by both Gaara and the Kazekage. She pulled some chalk from her shoe and began to draw a circle on the ground, checking her book every few seconds. Some time ago, she had lost her halberd.

She pressed her hand to the ground… And made a kunai. "Right. I just need it to be a THOUSAND TIMES BIGGER!" She picked it up and moodily flung it at a wall, where it dug deep into the wood. She cursed and drew another circle.

"Charming girlfriend." The Kazekage spat.

Gaara and Cynthia just sort of twitched.

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"

"I'M NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND!"

"Cynthia, if you can make a halberd, I will gladly let you kill him."

"Yay."

"Put some chakra in it…"

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS CHAKRA?"

Gaara and the Kazekage looked at each other. It was probably the first time they both looked doubtful.

_This girl can't be a bright one. _The Kazekage thought.

"It's that stuff… You know, that's like… Inside you, that… Stuff." Gaara tried to explain vaguely. It had been a while ago when he learned EXACTLY what chakra was.

"You mean like blood?"

"Yes. I mean, no… What the Hell are you doing?"

Cynthia retrieved the kunai and pricked her thumb, letting four drops fall into the center of her circle. "Edward says that whatever light appears when you transmute something just as you want it to be represents what element you are best at manipulating. The Colonel has a red light for fire. My light is yellow, which is the default. Edward's light is blue, and that means…"

"CYNTHIA DAMMIT!"

Edward sprang from cover, and ran over. "DON'T TELL ALL YOU FREAKING KNOW!" Cynthia gasped and slammed a hand into the ground. A halberd pulled out, which she swung at Edward. "DIE, BASTARD!"

Edward leapt back and countered with his arm. "Ohh, bastard. Little Cynthia is angry."

"DIE!"

Edward leapt over her and pressed a finger into the chip in the back of her neck. "Yeah, well, you're going to be normal whether you freaking like it or not."

"DESERT COFFIN!"

Edward was encased in solid fountain of sand, squirming angrily. He broke out his right arm, but the sand closed over it immediately.

Gaara glared at him from the ground. "Uh, no. Cynthia works for me now whether you like it or not, little alchemist boy."

Cynthia watched Edward being crushed. Her eyes were still black but they began to flicker. "Edward…"

Gaara glared at Seikei. "It's fading, Seikei!"

"It's not my fault. It's simply fading. Her emotions must be affecting the power of the chip!"

"YOU SAID NOTHING ABOUT EMOTIONS!"

"You didn't ask."

"Edward! Hang on…" Cynthia quickly flipped through her book and drew a circle on the hard sand. "I can break it…!" She slammed her hand into the sand. It exploded, but however, before any of it hit the ground it pulled back around Edward.

"Alchemy's not going to work, Cynthia…" Gaara sighed, obviously bored with it all. "Seikei, just slap on another chip."

"No can do… The effects will layer up and generate an impenetrable field. The oxygen will be burned up in the field and Cynthia will die."

"I'll remember that."

Cynthia tried circle after circle. She began to cry and panic. "Edward, Edward! Gaara! Don't kill him!"

"I can and I will."

The sand squeezed tighter. Edward cried out and squirmed angrily. Cynthia fell to her knees at Gaara's feet. "Undo the jutsu!" She begged. "Please! Let Edward live!"

"Hmm… No."

Tears dripped down her cheeks and splattered on the floor. Cynthia growled and her eyes turned to slits, but Gaara said, "If you turn into a Lalaurana I will kill the boy."

"Cynthia!" Edward gasped. "When—Ugh…—When I die, I'll be sent back to Germany…"

"NO!" She screamed. "I won't let that happen! You'll forget me again, I just freaking know it!" She put her face in her hands. "Please… Gaara…"

Gaara looked down at her, a sort of confused look on his face. He had long since forgotten the definition of 'love.' _Why does she care for him so much? _He thought. _Can't be his looks. I just don't get it!_ He looked at Edward, who was still squirming with angry energy. _What's so special about this Edward guy? _He turned his dark-ringed eyes back to Cynthia. _And why does it hurt me to see her cry?_

He knelt down to her. "Cynthia?"

Cynthia looked up. Tears were running freely down her face, and her eyes were wide and glassy.

"What is the meaning of love?"

This made everyone just stop. Edward felt the sand loosen a bit and sighed with relief.

"Love is…" Cynthia fumbled for the right words. "Love is when you want to stay with one person forever. To protect them from anything. To care for them, and show concern…" Cynthia sighed and looked at Edward, then back at Gaara. "You don't get it, do you…? Now just… Set Edward free…"

The sand tightened around Edward. He gasped and squirmed with renewed energy.

"No."

Cynthia's tears dripped down faster. She flung her arms around Gaara and cried into his shoulder. "Set Edward free! Don't kill him! Please!"

Gaara flinched. What the Hell was going on? Cynthia's arms felt warm and powerful, and his shoulder felt wet with her tears. Hesitantly, he lifted his arms and wrapped them around her. "F… Fine…"

The sand faded and swirled back into his gourd. Edward landed on the ground, gasping for air.

Seikei watched them, anger growing in her. Master Gaara, and that HUMAN! Well, demon-human-thing. She made a number of hand signs and whispered, "Demon seal no jutsu!"

"AAAH!" Cynthia screamed. Blue electricity shot from the ground up into her brain. She stumbled back as blue fire began to grow on one of her arms. "What? AAH!"

Gaara watched, rather embarrassed. But soon the gourd on his back burst into flame as well. The flames licked off the sand and onto his clothes. He made an awkward yelp in surprise and tried to beat out the flames. Seikei directed her energy towards Gaara and blinked. And Gaara blacked out.

Cynthia blew out the flames. "WHAT THE HELL YOU FREAKING CLONE! She spat. But Seikei was gone. Cynthia looked at Gaara and the flames that began to singe his skin. Edward transmuted a bowl of water and splashed it on Gaara. Cynthia picked Gaara up and walked out of the building, leaving Edward, who picked up the gourd.

"Cynthia, what…"

Cynthia ignored Edward's cries. Seikei cursed at them from the building, but stayed back to make a plan. Seikei now wanted to kill Gaara, and Cynthia knew of only one place that was safe…

* * *

Roy Mustang sighed and marked down his name on some paperwork. Boring, boring… He could be dating Hawkeye right now. There was a knock on his door. He sighed. _Maybe if I don't answer they'll go away… _He muttered. There was another knock, and another. Just as he was about to scream, a shrill voice yelled, "OH, SCREW THIS! ROY MUSTANG! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE, YOU DAMN COLONEL!"

Roy jumped up. Cynthia?

He opened the door. Cynthia stood there, holding the limp form of Gaara, both of them bleeding from terrible burns and cuts. "Gaara needs medical attention, ASAP!"

Gaara gasped and sat up. He pushed the sheets down to rest on his waist. A bed? He was asleep? He couldn't sleep!

He looked around. It was a quiet, small room, in a large town he didn't recognize. There was a closet in one corner. And…

Cynthia sat in a chair, staring out the window. One leg was freely set to rest on the ground, but her other was hugged up to her chin.

"You're awake." She said in a small voice.

"Where am I? And where the Hell is my gourd!" Gaara demanded.

Cynthia threw something at him. He stuck out an arm and caught it, looking. It was a simple, small silver key.

"Your gourd is locked up in the downstairs janitor's closet. Go get it if you want that demon to possess you all the time."

Gaara looked at the key. "Where am I, exactly?"

"Amestris, Central City. Colonel Mustang's spare room. Your subordinate, you know the clone, she made a demonic seal on us, rendering us both powerless for the time being."

Gaara looked down. His chest was wrapped in bandages, as were some parts of his arms. "Huh?"

"Fire. Blue fire."  
"What about before?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know…"

"The hug…" Cynthia groaned. She turned red, but kept her cool. "I, um, just, um…"

Gaara smirked. Cynthia glared at him. "Shut up!"

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING CYNTHIA!"

Mustang swung open the door cheerfully. "Your friend is awake!"

"Good morning, sir." Cynthia bobbed her head respectfully. "And he's not my friend. We're 'acquaintances.'"

"We were a lot more than acquaintances yesterday…" Gaara mumbled.

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT YOUR FREAKING FACE!"

"You enjoyed it."

"I DID NOT! I wanted Edward to stay alive!"

"Pssh."

"DON'T YOU 'pssh' ME, MISTER!"

"Who are you my father?"

"I can and will throw that gourd of sand into the freaking ocean!"

"Calm down, Cynth!"

"Huh?" Cynthia looked at the necklace shoved into her face. It was flat, and silver, and looked like the Fuhrer's insignia.

"Combat specialist Major Cynthia Suhn."

"WHEE!" Cynthia reached up to take the necklace. "Thank you, Colonel!"

"IF YOU TOUCH THAT I'LL KILL YOU!"

The shriek was deafening. Mihoshi glared at her from the doorframe. "For a child like yourself to join the military! OF AMESTRIS!"

Cynthia smirked and put on the necklace. "What are you gonna do? Kill your finest pupil?"

"Second finest."

Cynthia stared at her blankly. "Huh."

"I said, second finest. You're my second finest pupil."

"WHAT!" Cynthia leapt up from her chair, knocking it over in the process. "Who? I'll beat the crap out of her!"

"I am NOT a girl!"

The voice sounded angry and rather annoyed. A boy stepped from behind Mihoshi, fuming and carrying a bag full of his things. He had a handsome face and a strong body, and short, unruly hair. His eyes were scarlet and gleaming with mixed anger and confusion. He wore the same karate uniform as Cynthia.

"How did that loser surpass me?" Cynthia shrieked.

"If you want me to explain in ninja terms, you are at the level of a Chuunin. My pupil here is at the level of a Jounin."

"WHAT! A CHUUININ? I am SO at the level of a Jounin! I beat Kakashi!"

"With my help…" Gaara added.

"WITH HIS HELP!"

"Kurushimi beat me twice when I was drunk and once when I wasn't. You beat me ONCE when I was drunk and NEVER when I wasn't. Kurushimi even knows a jutsu or two, and two forms of advanced martial arts."

Cynthia shot Kurushimi a glare. Kurushimi just glared back at her and smirked. _The great Cynthia Suhn is nothing more than a cute little kitten._ He thought. _A VERY cute, frisky kitten._

"So go marry the guy, Sensei." Cynthia spat. "He seems your type. Annoying and hot. I can see why you enjoy teaching him, you b—"

"'Kurushimi' means 'pain.'" Gaara interrupted. He laced his fingers together thoughtfully. "Such a strong name is prone to granting the user immense spirit and strength."

Cynthia glared at him.

Kurushimi laughed. "Yeah, but mind games are more my style, panda eyes."

"Gaara, don't hurt him…" Cynthia warned. Gaara had already started making hand signs… When he realized there was no sand nearby. "He doesn't sleep a lot, got it?" She hissed. "Leave him alone."

"Ooh. Frisky kitten."

"Kitten…" Cynthia flipped open her alchemy book and began to draw a circle.

"What was it you said about not hurting him?" Gaara asked angrily.

"Shut up."

Roy spun on his heel. "Um…" He ran out. "Work…"

Kurushimi rubbed the back of his head and looked at the clock on the wall. "Mihoshi sensei, I have to meet my girlfriend. She's flying in from Tokyo to see me…"

"Oh. You're SO special because you have a girlfriend." Cynthia muttered sarcastically.

"At least we get to French! You've probably never French kissed in your life."

Cynthia turned red. "I have so!"

"With redhead?"

Gaara glared and began to make hand signs, but his chakra level was too low.

"I HAVE NO FREAKING ROMANTIC INTEREST WITH GAARA!"

Gaara and Kurushimi smirked. Cynthia glared at them both. "I DON'T! I like Edward!"

"You don't seem to show it." Gaara put in.

Cynthia gritted her teeth and looked at the wounded sand ninja. "Kurushimi, Mihoshi sensei, please give us a moment alone."

Once they were gone Cynthia glared at Gaara and hissed through clenched teeth, "Heartless ninja."

"What did I do?"

"You freaking…" She began. "You freaking… You freaking…" She sat back down in her chair. "You just freaking SUCK!"

She grabbed the leg of her chair with her metal hand and squeezed it, crushing it in her palm. "You make fun of me for loving Edward when a emotionless freak like you doesn't even know what the freaking word means. It's not even just a word! Love is an _emotion_. You _feel _it. At times you might have feelings for more than one person, but I… I've lost all feeling for Sasuke, Naruto and Envy. Sasuke has Sakura, Naruto is married, and Envy's alternate self is a blood-crazy homunculus. Seeing Edward in such pain several days ago made me realize how important he is in my life. I need Edward to go on living. But you, Gaara, you freaking ninja, you don't feel this for anyone and you never have!"

She was crying now, burying her face in the fabric of her sleeve.

"That's not true."

Cynthia looked up. Gaara was sitting, hugging his knees to his chest and staring blankly at her.

"A long… A long time ago, when I was probably around five, or six, I felt the love of a person. But that person ended up trying to kill me. I killed my mother, and now my fate is set to kill my father, and every other human being on this planet but myself."

Cynthia looked at him sympathetically. She wanted to show this poor boy the feeling of love, the sensation of a kiss, the warmth of a long hug. But she couldn't do that without…

Gaara looked up to find her sitting next to him. "Gaara, you've never actually felt happy before, have you?" She asked. He shook his head.

"Happy is another emotion we humans have. It is very important to some, but to others, it is merely an option of expression." She thought of Sasuke as she said this. "A kiss is an action of love, which generates happiness. So is a hug. A smile makes people feel good. That's what you have to work on, caring for others."

"My existence in this world is to kill every human being besides myself. I have no other purpose."

"Pssh! Destiny, fate, all that crap… Forget it. My father told me my fate was to take over the family company and become a billionaire." She spread her arms wide. "Hello, dammit, look at me. I'm a combat specialist for the Amestris military. Maybe that was what you were born to do, but who says you HAVE to? Just sink the stupid gourd in the ocean and become a normal ninja. You'd still be the most powerful in the Hidden Sand village!"

"If I sink the gourd, the sand will find me." Gaara replied. "I cannot escape it…" He looked at Cynthia. "Cynthia? Could…"

"Sure."

So Gaara leaned over, and gingerly touched his lips to hers. He pulled back violently and spun around, glaring at his reflection in the window.

_Idiot, why the Hell did you do that?_ He thought.

Cynthia was red. It barely even passed as a kiss… But she still flushed red. She felt as if Gaara had accomplished so much just by that.

Gaara turned back to her, and Cynthia looked back at him. She smiled. "That was good, Gaara…"

"You talk to me like I'm a little kid."

"Well, I…"

"I'm your age."

"Yes, I know…"

"So you wanna make out?"

"Well, I… Sure."


End file.
